NEWTOWN, Pa. — When rivals meet in football, there is always a lot of talk about throwing the record books out the window. In spite of all the talk, that rarely ever happens.

But it did Friday night, as decided underdog Council Rock South gave intra-district rival Council Rock North all it could handle before losing, 31-21.

The win guarantees the Indians a 7-3 record and guarantees them a playoff spot.

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What was most amazing about the Golden Eagles’ losing effort was that they put so much pressure on North after falling behind by three touchdowns.

South closed the gap with its steady option offense, eventually coming to within 28-21 with eight minutes remaining in the game.

It then took a sustained drive to seal the deal as North managed to fight 62 yards before Alex Greenberg converted a 24-yard field goal that captured the win with two and a half minutes left.

South came close to denying North that drive and getting the ball back for a potential tying drive of its own twice, but the Indians came up with a couple of big plays to keep the ball moving into Eagle territory.

On a first-down play from the 50-yard line, North fumbled the ball into a sea of South defenders but miraculously managed to come up with the ball to keep the drive alive. Quarterback Brandon McIlwain ran around the left side for 13 yards on a third-and-11 five plays later to give North a much-needed first down.

Greenberg hit his game-icing field goal soon after.

North looked absolutely unstoppable in the early going, scoring the first four times it touched the ball to take a 28-7 lead at the half.

After the Indians put their first two touchdowns on the board with runs by Eddie MacKin and Dejuan Martin, McIlwain led the way, completing five of six first-half passes for 124 yards.

McIlwain made it 21-0 when he threaded the needle and got the ball into the hands of Josh McWilliams, who was shoulder to shoulder with a defender downfield and never broke stride, covering 49 yards.

McIlwain threw another perfect pass one possession later to Martin, who cut across the middle and took the ball 25 yards for the Indians’ fourth score.

South answered the third and fourth touchdowns with scores of its own, including a 6-yard run by quarterback Greg Paprocki with only nine seconds left in the half.

But after adding one more score on a 9-yard run by Tyler Anderson early in the third quarter, South did not have quite enough to catch playoff-bound North.